We spent portions of two days with one of each Scion iA version, covering both winding Pennsylvania country roads and grinding Philadelphia commuter traffic, including frequent stop-and-go portions on both city streets and highways.

Our impressions of the iA started with the styling: It's, ummmmmmmm, noticeable. The huge front grille is polarizing, said Scion general manager Doug Murtha, and deliberately so.

Its target buyers like to stand out, and they enjoyed the bold appearance--which extends through some body-side character lines and an upswept tail.

A little background is required here: The Scion iA is the first-ever product sold by Toyota's "youth" brand that isn't a product of the gigantic Toyota vehicle company at all.

It's designed and manufactured by Mazda, and is a sedan version of the latest Mazda 2 subcompact hatchback--a model the small Japanese maker has decided not to sell in the U.S., at least for a while.

But Mazda will sell its smallest model only as a hatchback, and Toyota has done a deal to sell the sedan version in the Americas. What U.S. buyers will see as a Scion iA will be sold in Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico as a Toyota Yaris R instead, since the Scion brand is U.S.-only.

That means that Scion buyers get a dose of Zoom-Zoom in the latest offering, along with the ultra-high fuel efficiency of the SkyActiv engine and transmission technology.

(We should note that Scion/Toyota executives never used either of those terms, though they did acknowledge the car's roots and that it was being built by Mazda at a new plant in Mexico shared with the Mazda 2 hatchback.)

On the road, the iA is light, handles well, and is far more refined than the last-generation Mazda 2 we reviewed.